ChibiChibi
by Keitorin Asthore
Summary: An AU fic about the entire Mankin gang as toddlers. Dedicated to the princess of fanfiction and queen of all Chibi fics, Anna!


"My babies are too little to go to school!" Keiko wailed.  
"They're four years old," Mikihisa said. "And it's only preschool."  
"Still, they're so tiny!" Keiko said.  
Mikihisa kissed his wife's cheek. "You go wake them up. I'll get breakfast started," he said. Keiko sighed and tapped the door open.  
Her precious little boys were fast asleep. Yoh's chubby arms and legs were splayed out as he flopped on his bed, while Hao was curled up deep under the covers so only the top of his head was visible. Keiko knelt between their futons.  
"Time to wake up, sweeties," she said.  
Hao blinked and sat up. "Is it school, Kaa'san?" he asked.  
Keiko kissed his warm forehead. "It is, Hao-chan," she said.  
"I excited!" Hao exclaimed.  
"I'm glad one of us is," Keiko said. "Go brush your hair while I wake up little brother."  
"Hai, Kaa'san," Hao said, dashing into the bathroom.  
Keiko stroked Yoh's hair away from his face. "Wake up, Yoh-chan," she cooed.  
He rubbed his eyes. "I don't want to get up, Kaa'san," Yoh said sleepily.  
"But it's the first day of school," Keiko reminded him.  
Yoh leaped up. "Okay!" he said. "I up!"  
Hao came back in the room, his long hair neatly brushed. In his little hands he held his new school uniform. "Help me, Kaa'san?" he pleaded.  
"Of course, Hao-chan," Keiko said. "Yoh-chan, you go brush your hair now, okay?" Yoh nodded obediently.  
Keiko helped her oldest son get dressed. Hao beamed with pride in his new school clothes. "You're all grown up now, Hao-chan," she said.  
"I growed up too! I got dressed all by myself!" Yoh said proudly.  
"Nah-uh," Hao said, scowling. "You button bad."  
"Nah-uh!" Yoh said, jamming his little hands on his hips.  
"Nah-uh!"  
"Nah-uh!"  
"Let Kaa'san see," Keiko said, effectively breaking up their fight. Yoh had missed the top button, so she had to unbutton and rebutton his shirt for him.  
Yoh frowned. "I no like buttons," he said. "I wear my shirt with no buttons!"  
Keiko shook her head. "You silly boys," she said. "Come on. Tou'san's making breakfast." She picked up the twins, setting one on each hip, and carried them downstairs.  
"There's my boys!" Mikihisa grinned. "Sit and eat. You have to hurry so Kaa'san can take you down to the bus stop." Keiko set her sons down and they started on their breakfast.  
"Miki, I can't let them go!" Keiko wailed.  
He stroked her arms. "You have to, Kei," Mikihisa said. "They have to grow up."  
"Or they could be like you," Kino said. "You wailed so much we let you stay home the first week."  
"Kino was always a sucker," Yohmei said. Kino whapped him on the head with her cane.  
The little boys giggled. "Ohayo, Grampy. Ohayo, Grammy," Hao said.  
Kino patted the top of Hao's head. "Keiko, when are you going to cut my grandson's hair?" she asked.  
"Oh, please don't cut it!" Yohmei pleaded. "I'll never be able to them apart after that."  
Kino shook her head and turned to her little grandsons. "I won't be here when you come home. I'm going back to Aomori," she said.  
"Give Grammy a hug, boys," Mikihisa said.  
Kino hugged the two little ones tightly. "If you're very good, I'll bring a surprise for you," she said.  
"We promise to be good," Hao said.  
"The bus will be here soon, boys," Mikihisa said. "Go upstairs and brush your teeth."  
"Kino, I didn't think you were leaving until next week," Keiko said.  
"I have a new student- a rather strange case," Kino said. "She's only three years old, but she was abandoned. The girl I left in charge is absolutely frantic over the child. I figured I should go back before everything falls to pieces."  
"I understand," Keiko said.  
Suddenly two pairs of little arms grabbed her knees. "Kaa'san, let's go!" Hao crowed. He and his twin brother were dressed in their identical uniforms, with the tiniest backpacks imaginable in their hands.  
"Say goodbye to Tou'san first," Keiko said.  
"Okay, bye Tou'san, let's go!" Hao said.  
"All right, all right!" Keiko laughed. She and her sons walked down the long winding drive to the street, a tiny hand tucked in each of hers.  
"...and we're gonna play , and color pictures, and build with blocks, and..." Little Hao was babbling as fast as he could as he skipped down the drive, tugging his mother and brother along.  
"Here's the bus," Keiko said. She blinked. "Hao -chan?" He was already halfway up the steps. "Hao-chan, did you forget something?"  
"Oh, hai," Hao said. He kissed his mother's cheek. "Bye, Kaa'san."  
"Take care of your ototo-chan," Keiko said. "Speaking of which..." She knelt down to look her youngest son in the eyes. "Yoh-chan, you need to get on the bus with Hao."  
"Mommy, Yoh want to stay home with you," Yoh sniffled. He wrapped his little arms around Keiko's neck. "Mommy, please let me stay home."  
She'd forgotten he was the clingy one. Keiko rubbed his back and turned her head to press a kiss on his round cheek. "Yoh-chan, you'll be home very soon," she said. "And you're going to have fun today. You be a very good boy for Mommy, okay?"  
"Okay," Yoh whimpered. He kissed his mother goodbye. She picked him up and set him on the bus steps. "Bye, Mommy," the little boy said forlornly. Hao dragged his little brother to a seat on the bus and they both waved to Keiko as the bus pulled away.  
It was a long, long wait for Keiko. All she could see were the two little faces peeking at her through the bus window. She missed her babies.  
At twelve o'clock sharp she was standing at the edge of the drive again, waiting for them. The bus finally pulled up to the curb, and her two boys tumbled out.  
"Mommy!" Yoh shouted, running into her arms.  
"There's my sweethearts," Keiko said, scooping up her youngest. She kissed him on the cheek with a loud smack. "Did you have a fun day?"  
"Nii'san cried," Yoh announced.  
Hao's little face reddened. "Ototo-chan, you said you no tell!" he wailed.  
Keiko knelt down and kissed Hao's nose. "It's okay to cry if you missed me," she said. "Now, which one of you wants to help me get the mail?"  
"I do! I do!" Yoh said.  
"All right. Yoh-chan can get the mail, and Hao-chan can get it tomorrow," Keiko said. She took Hao's chubby little hand. "What did you do in school today?"  
"We colored," Hao said. "I made a picture for you."  
"That's wonderful, honey," Keiko smiled. "You can show me when we get to the house, okay?"  
"Okay," Hao said. When they reached the house, he kicked off his little sneakers and plunked immediately onto the floor to pull a scrawly crayon drawing out of his backpack. "See, Kaa'san? See, Kaa'san?"  
"I see," Keiko said. She wasn't quite sure what it was. "It's lovely."  
"Can I put it on the 'frigerator?" Hao begged.  
"Go ahead," Keiko said.  
Yoh ran in and handed her the mail. "Here, Kaa'san," he said, breathless.  
"Thank you, Yoh-chan," she said. "Hao-chan is in the kitchen. Tell him you two can have some snacks."  
"Yay, snacks!" Yoh shouted, careening into the kitchen.  
She sifted through the mail. Bill, bill, newsletter, letter, bill, letter, postcard. Keiko opened the first letter and skimmed the opening lines. Her cheerful mood began to dissipate.  
  
*****  
  
"What am I going to do with you?" Mikihisa demanded.  
"A thousand apologies, Asakura-sama!" Ponchi and Konchi wailed, bowing deeply. "We'll never do it again!"  
Mikihisa heard two sets of little footsteps approaching. "We'll discuss this later," he said.  
The two spirits vanished as Yoh and Hao ran in. "Tou'san, Tou'san!" they cried.  
Mikihisa set his youngest son on his knee. "What is it, little ones?" he asked.  
"Kaa'san's crying," Hao reported.  
"Why?" Mikihisa asked. He started towards the house, Yoh on his shoulders and Hao trotting after him.  
Yoh shrugged. "She got a letter, and then she started crying, so we gots you," he said.  
"That was a good idea," Mikihisa said. He pushed open the door to the house. Sure enough, his pretty wife was holding a piece of paper and sobbing. Mikihisa set Yoh down on the floor. "Go play for a while, all right, you two?" he said. The little boys nodded and ran off.  
Keiko looked up, her face tearstained. "Oh, Miki!" she sobbed. "Rain's dead!"  
"Rain?" Mikihisa repeated, taking his wife in his arms. "Oh, I'm so sorry, honey." He kissed the side of her head. "She was at our wedding. I remember. What happened?"  
Keiko leaned against him and sniffled. "Rain and her husband separated around four years ago, and Titus had finally agreed to get back together with her," she said. "They were driving down the road when a drunk driver hit them."  
"I'm sorry, honey," Mikihisa said, stroking his wife's long, dark hair.  
"That's not all. They had a little girl," Keiko said. "Only four years old. And I'm...I'm her godmother. And her guardian."  
"There's no one else?" Mikihisa asked.  
"Rain's sister is taking care of her now, but she's made it plain that she doesn't want to be bothered by a child," Keiko said. "Kylea says that if we don't take her, she'll leave the poor baby at the nearest orphanage." She looked up at her husband. "Can't we please take her in?"  
"I don't have any idea of what to do with a little girl," Mikihisa protested. "What can I do?"  
"Right now we just need to take care of her," Keiko said. "If she proves to be a good shaman, we can take care of her training. But she needs us, Miki."  
Mikihisa cocked his head and held up a finger. "Just a minute, Keiko. I hear someone," he said. "Two very little someones."  
Hao peeked around the door. "Hi?" he squeaked. His little twin brother peeped out behind him.  
"Yoh, Hao," Mikihisa warned.  
Keiko shook her head and held out her arms. "I need my babies," she insisted. Hao climbed into his mother's lap and let her cuddle him. Yoh gave him a push, and Keiko set him on her other knee.  
"Spoiled little things," Mikihisa smiled.  
"Yoh-chan, Hao-chan" Keiko began, purposefully ignoring her husband's playful accusation. "How would you like a sister?"  
"A baby sister?" Yoh perked up.  
"No, a sister your age," Keiko said. "She's four years old, just like you."  
"Kaa'san!" Hao said, outraged. "We four and a half!"  
"All right, so she's a little bit younger than you," Keiko conceded. "Would you like a sister?"  
"Hai," Yoh said, wriggling in excitement. "I want a sister!"  
  
*****  
  
"Miki, she's here!" Keiko called.  
"Huh?" he asked, poking his head out of the door. Keiko rolled her eyes and grabbed him by the ear.  
"Come on," she said. "You have to meet her."  
A big silver car pulled up the driveway and parked. A young woman with dark red hair dressed in a gray powersuit got out of the driver's seat, walked around to the passenger door, and opened it. She lifted out a child.  
"That baby's too little to sit in the front!" Keiko fumed. "And where's her car seat?!" Mikihisa patted her arm.  
The girl was very small, almost undersized. Her pink hair had been pulled into two short, tight braids below her ears, making her thin face look stretched and drawn. She was dressed in a rumpled black dress that looked like it had been slept in.  
"My nee-chan looks sad," Yoh commented.  
The redheaded woman took the child by the hand and dragged her to the Asakuras, her high heels clicking against the gravel. "Here she is," she said without preamble. She thrust a suitcase into Mikihisa's hands. "There are her things. Oh, and there are some legal papers in there too, about what to do with her trust fund and such. You can call my office if you have any questions." She patted the quiet child on the head. "Goodbye," she said. And then she got in the car and drove away.  
Keiko knelt down to the child's eye level, her soft blue kimono swishing against the gravel. "Hello, little one," she said. "I'm your godmama Keiko. These are my sons, Yoh and Hao."  
Yoh grinned at her. "Hi!" he chirped.  
"Konnichiwa," the four-year-old girl whispered, her cheeks pink in shyness.  
"What's your name? I'm Hao," the little boy said.  
"Tamao," the girl said shyly.  
Hao poked his twin. "This is Yoh," he said.  
Keiko smiled. "And this is my husband, Mikihisa," she introduced.  
Mikihisa felt a little awkward. "Hello, Tamao," he said.  
To his horror, little Tamao burst into tears, her eyes wide in fright. Keiko picked her up. "Don't cry, Tamao-chan," she comforted her. "He's not scary. He just looks...oh, well. Come on, let's get you situated." She took the suitcase and carried Tamao inside.  
Hao plunked down on the step, Yoh beside him. "My nee-chan doesn't seem very fun," he sighed.  
"Give her a few days," Mikihisa counseled. "She's just a little scared at being in a new place without her mommy and daddy."  
"Okay," Yoh said, popping up. He and Hao ran inside to convince their new nee-chan to play.  
Mikihisa just hoped that would be true. It wouldn't be nice to have his stepdaughter burst into tears every time she saw him.  
  
Author's Note: KAWAII!!! *huggles chibi baby twins* Aren't dey de cutest, shweetest wittle tings?!?! *baby talk moment* I love chibis...and so does my buddy Anna!! This is dedicated to Chibi Ice Queen Anna Asakura, my newest BFF!!!! 


End file.
